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How To Make Your Law Firm Stand Out

The presentation is everything when it comes to getting clients to walk through your door. You want to show a potential client that you're up-to-date, focused, organized, and ready to help them with their problem like the industry leaders at www.valentlegal.com. That means you need to be using the latest software, everyone is dressed appropriately, have a professional website, and phone calls are answered or returned promptly. It's a lot to consider, implement, and maintain, but it pays off in the form of a favorable impression by those who are seeking your law office for help. Use Software That Works Have you cobbled together a bunch of apps and programs that offer some form of communication and file transfer capabilities for the entire office to use? If so, you'll find that it's only going to be adequate for so long. Cracks in the system eventually show and not always in a good way. Clients expect law firms to be up-to-date and using an internal/external communication system that's purpose-built. Gmail and its connected suite of software just won't cut it in a business that requires confidentiality and professionalism. Invest in software that's designed for use in a law firm. You'll gain access to features that are important for a law firm to operate such as maintaining client privacy, the ability to manage calendars, pull up client and case history notes quickly, manage contacts, keep track of billing, and even a client portal. If you want to impress clients, you need software that gets the job done efficiently and prevents you from dropping a ball. Don't look at the software as a suck cost so much as it's an invaluable aid in the running of your operation. Make Sure Staff Know What They're Doing Oftentimes it's your paralegals and secretaries who are your front line. They find out why clients are there to see you, keep them up to date when you're unavailable, pull up case statuses, and perform case intake. Everyone works together as part of a well-oiled machine in order to make sure the client gets the service they expect and provide help with questions. When your staff knows their role, do it well, and provide great client support, you'll get great feedback. Take Raphaelson Law as an example. Their legal team works together to make sure a client gets quality service and it shows. One client provided feedback that states: "They understand my situation and I felt like they really care about me as a person." This is the kind of feedback you want from clients and you'll get it as long as you work closely with your staff, make sure they know their roles, and they treat clients with the utmost respect. Look And Act Professional A majority of professions have shifted towards a more casual atmosphere in terms of employee dress codes and office space. But there's a fine line between business casual and downright sloppy. That means having a website designed by a professional, employees who are dressed in clean and presentable clothing, and an office space that's kept clean and neat. All of this can be achieved even if you don't have a large budget for a website and office space. You want your clients to walk into a space that feels like business gets done here and you do that by focusing on the small details. Make sure phones are answered as promptly as possible and calls are returned quickly if no one can answer an incoming call. If employees need to check their phones for information or to answer a call, have them do it out of view of the client whenever possible. Having a busy day? Make sure staff checks on waiting clients, offer comforts and give estimates on how long it will be before their lawyer is able to see them. These may all seem like small things, but they show the client that they matter. And that is the most important thing to a client: knowing their presence in the office or their phone call means something to the people who are taking care of their legal issues. Make Communication A Priority Ask anyone who runs an office what their biggest problem is and they'll tell you it's communication. People frequently assume that someone else has heard about something and won't say anything. Or they think it's not their job or they don't have the authority to discuss information with one another. Chances are it's happening in your law firm every day and you're not aware of just how widespread the issue is because no one's talking about it. This is an issue that affects you, your employees, daily operations, other lawyers, and your clients. Sit down with everyone in the office and find out what it is they need for effective communication. Determine if intra-office communication software like Slack is sensible because it works on multiple platforms and makes it easy for people to talk. Ask people what holds them back from getting the information they need, how to share it with others, if a "need to know" policy should be implemented, and how to speak with clients about their cases. While it may not be possible to fully eliminate communication issues due to human nature, you can go a long way towards making it easier for people to talk with others and spread important information so everyone gets the information they need. And clients benefit in that they're not told to call back later to find out about their case because the paralegals or secretaries are enabled to discuss certain aspects with them. Putting additional focus on these issues is how you impress your clients and make them feel like their business is important to you. They'll reward you with excellent reviews and offer up referrals to people they know who are looking for a lawyer to help them through their issue because you treated them with respect. If you need additional assistance in impressing your clients and charging more for your services, apply for the Cue The Clients program with business coaching expert Rebecca Mountain. With all of your newfound success and income, you'll finally be able to reward yourself with that vacation you've always wanted. For a great property purchase or rental in the beautiful Bahamas, visit MCR Bahamas Group for some great deals. I hope you enjoyed this blog post about how to make sure that your law firm stands out from other legal practices.Interested in more articles about business law?Read Related Resources:• How To Keep Your Business On The Right Side Of The Law• Tips To Keep Your Business Compliant